Budget 2014 Calculators, Budget Reaction, Submissions & Commentary

Budget 2014 is one that requires much renovation SIPTU President, Jack O’Connor has said. In a review of today’s budget measures he said: "Granted, a €2.5bn budget is better than the €3.1bn originally projected. However, the Government could have got away with taking out a couple of hundred million euro less again while still safely undercutting the 5.1% deficit target for 2014..."

IEA: The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) stated this was one of the most pro export oriented Budgets for several decades. The IEA Chief Executive John Whelan, commenting immediately after Minister Noonan had released his Budget 2014 said;

"There have been serious erosions in many of the schemes which were originally designed to encourage people with funds to invest them in productive industry , particularly export industry .Today , sense has prevailed and many of the blockages to investment have been removed . We now look forward to early implementation of the measures announced in Budget 2014, so that we can get a renewed stream of quality investment into industry and ensure exporters can fund the identified opportunities in the international markets .Time is against us as can be seen from the deteriorating export figures."

IBEC: Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today said the reduced size of budget adjustment will give some relief to the economy, but there are too many new taxes and increased costs for business. These will dampen the economic and jobs recovery, which has gained momentum in recent months. New measures to support small business, encourage entrepreneurship and underpin activity in the domestic economy are very welcome.

SFA: “The announcements supporting entrepreneurs and business start-ups will play a key role in contributing to growth. Concerns that continuing to levy pension funds is just a further robbing of the schemes which are already under serious pressure.”AJ Noonan, Chairman, Small Firms Association .

Reacting to the Budget 2014 announcement today, theSmall Firms Association said there were positives and negatives for business. The increase in the lower rate of PRSI and other taxes to the economy will impact detrimentally on the domestic economy.

ISME: ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, gave a cautiouswelcome to the incentives introduced in today’s Budget to assist smaller enterprises to develop and grow. The Association believes that the decision not to increase income taxes is a wise move as the economy is already experiencing diminishing returns as a consequence of the introduction of USC levies in the previous budgets.

Credit Review Office: John Trethowan, the Head of the Credit Review Office, welcomes the Minister for Finance’s announcement in Budget 2014 of an increase in the limit for appeals from SMEs and farms which have been refused credit from the pillar banks.

The Credit Review Office team has recently been expanded in anticipation of increased need for its services from an increased demand for credit by SMEs, and Trethowan is confident that his team have the capacity to service the increase in the appeals limit to €3m.

Sinn Féin: Speaking in response to budget 2014’s cuts to jobseekers’ allowance for under-25s, Sinn Féin’s social protection spokesperson, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD said that the clear message from government to young people is that they should emigrate.

“Despite those fine words and a promise not to cut social welfare rates, today the Labour and Fine Gael parties are kicking our young people in the teeth once again and this time they are kicking them even harder, giving them the choice of suffering even more hardship and poverty at home or taking the boat or plane.”